With frigid temperatures and possible snow heading our way, we’re recommending our Black Chocolate Stout this weekend. This is the beer equivalent of staying home wrapped in a blanket: rich, dark, and hearty, with waves of tasty dark chocolate and espresso throughout. Bundle up and enjoy.

We no longer hold our employees to a regular eight-hour day. It is impossible to expect them to be at work by 8 or 9 a.m. On a recent Monday, I took the subway from Brooklyn to meet an 86-year-old friend on West 17th Street whose husband was at Mount Sinai Hospital at 100th Street and Park Avenue. It took us nearly an hour to get to the hospital in an Uber, even with Waze and Google Maps. What New Yorker does not have a similar story?

Wait a minute, they get to work with beer and they're not expected to get to the office on time?

I may have to send in an application.

Of course the quickest way around the transit crisis is to take matters into your own hands and ride a bike. However, that's not always an option, and the city has committed to speeding up the buses:

“We know the city has a big role to play in trying to get buses moving faster & trying to turn around the decline in ridership,” said Cmsr Trottenberg. “And I think what you’re hearing... is a really big commitment to do that.” @amNewYork by @vinbaronehttps://t.co/aCbKtwhpEL

The city currently has 111 miles of dedicated bus lanes, which critics point out are often blocked by idling or parked vehicles. To help keep that network of lanes clear, the mayor will establish for the first time dedicated tow truck teams within the Police Department. There will be seven towing teams patrolling the city, starting immediately, according to the mayor’s office.

This sounds promising until you consider who's blocking the bus lanes:

Though even if we do get a Bike Mayor the city will refuse to give them a towing team and instead tell them to call 311.

Of course the big news is that more bike lane opponents are beginning to snap:

BREAKING: 2nd politically motivated attack on a bike lane — this time in the Village where NIMBYs are rallying to undo safety. @NYTMetro should cover these attacks, which are linked to @NYPANetworkhttps://t.co/MRmlUlZ2Ay

Cyclists started noticing the anti-bike lane screeds on the 13th Street bike lane on Thursday afternoon. First, Chelsea Yamada of Transportation Alternatives sent Streetsblog a photo of the words, “Bring back our parking” in orange paint near Avenue A.

Later, cyclist Jonathan Warner noticed that the lanes on 12th and 13th streets were covered in patches of broken glass, which he believed was an intentional attack on cyclists.

“It’s pretty deliberate,” he posted on Twitter. “All over 12th and 13th in a specific 2-3 ave radius. Makes you think.”

I'd look for someone who has slowly gone mad after decades of space-hunting and alternate-side jockeying and who has lost the ability to distinguish between a public street and a driveway.

As for the "Bring back our parking!" graffito, certainly when you think of all the people and things that have made these neighborhoods the cultural touchstones that they are, what really stands out is the cars.

Meanwhile, cycling in London is growing quickly, and the Guardian has some policy ideas to get more people on bikes:

In the Netherlands, liability is automatically placed with the more powerful road user, unless it can be proven they were not at fault. The law is designed to protect vulnerable road users from financial damage caused by drivers of motorised vehicles. Unlike in the UK, a motorist who hits a cyclist in the Netherlands must prove they were doing everything they could to avoid contact – otherwise they will be liable for damages.

Supporters say stacking the law in this way would encourage people to drive more carefully.

We also have strict liability here, only the way it works here is that it's always the cyclist's fault, especially if they weren't wearing a helmet.

According to NYPD TrafficStat, the number of total collisions in the 111th Precinct decreased 0.9 percent from 4,294 to 4,256 and collisions with injuries went down 5 percent from 677 in 2017 to 643 in 2018. TrafficStat also reported that total injuries, occupant injuries and bicycle injuries decreased throughout the precinct: